The team had great success this weekend (April 18-19) at the MAISA Southern Qualifier. Sailors Dominic Re '15, David Aldian '17, Julianna Lee '17, Liz Day '18, Austin Tipp '18, Lawson Buckley '18, and Jack Dyment '18 traveled to the College of William and Mary in VA with the hope of qualifying for the America's Trophy. Weather made Saturday a very beautiful day with temperatures reaching 85 in the afternoon but very light winds. A division skipper David Aldian with crew Julianna Lee sailed the first set, pulling out a sixth and second place to start off the day. B division skipper Dominic Re with crew Liz Day began their day with an eighth but were then able to bounce back and finish their set with a third. With the wind slowly dying, Aldian and Lee worked to sail fast, coming out of the second set with a sixth and seventh place. Re and Day the pulled off a fourth and a close second to UVA. With the wind coming to a near stop, Aldian and Lee were only able to sail one race, coming in third, before a wind delay was called. After a few hours of waiting, A division was sent back out to finish the set, Villanova earning a fourth place. Re and Day sweated through the light wind and got a second and third place for Nova. With the sun setting, Lee and Aldian were sent back out for one last set, coming in third and later seventh place. Nova ended the day with 61 points, only a close 11 behind third place Virginia Tech.Day 2 held much more favorable winds, averaging around 8-10 mph in the morning. Re and Day started off the day in B division, coming off the water with two third place finishes. Aldian and Lee worked hard together, coming out with a fifth and eighth place. Re and Day continued their streak earning another third place finish before the wind quickly picked up, forcing crew Austin Tipp to sub in for Day. Re and Tipp finished off the set with yet another third place finish. With the wind gusting up to 15 mph, Aldian took out crew Jack Dyment for their set. The two hiked out continuously and pulled out a much needed fourth and third place for Nova. With the end of the day in sight, Re and Tipp went out for a final three races in B division. Working through the puffs, they were able to pull off two thirds and a fourth place finish, leaving them only two points behind Virginia Tech, who held the third qualifying spot. A division was sent out for one final, windy race of the day. The pressure was on for Aldian and Dyment to perform. The duo finished off the day with a well-earned third, two places in front of Virginia Tech, allowing Villanova to qualify by one point!After a long, nail biting weekend, the Villanova team was able to head home with the promise of going to the America's Trophy two weekends later. Needless to say, none of this could have been done without the hard work of every member on the team and the excellent coaching of Matt Newborn. The team will be heading back to Virginia May 2-3 to sail at Old Dominion University in the America's Trophy.